Mass. officers asked to dress as civilians during trial

The lawyer involved says cop uniforms evoke sympathy from the jury

BOSTON — The lawyer defending a young man accused of murdering off-duty Revere police officer Daniel Talbot is asking that cops attending his trial be forced to dress in civilian clothing.

In what promises to be a highly contentious case over how police conduct themselves off the clock, jury selection for Robert Iacoviello Jr., 22, gets under way today in Suffolk Superior Court.

Iacoviello's attorney, Peter B. Krupp, tells Judge Patrick F. Brady in his motion to restrict spectators' attire, ``The existence of uniformed officers in the courtroom will give undue weight to the testimony of the police officers who are witnesses at trial, serve to evoke sympathy from the jury, or intimidate the jury into feeling an obligation to convict someone for Mr. Talbot's death.''

Iacoviello, facing life imprisonment if convicted of first-degree murder, is accused of shooting Talbot, 30, between the eyes on Sept. 29, 2007, after a pal, Derek Lodie, verbally tangled with the gang unit officer behind Revere High School. Talbot, his fiancee and three other off-duty cops had gone to a ballfield to drink after a trip to a shooting range and a night out at a restaurant.

``We are eager for trial to start,'' Krupp said yesterday. ``I believe Mr. Iacoviello will be vindicated at the completion of the trial.''

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley's office declined comment.

Lodie, 20, who summoned Iacoviello to the high school, pleaded guilty in October to being an accessory before the fact of murder and is serving an eight- to 12-year prison sentence.

According to court papers, Talbot is alleged to have shouted ``Blood killer'' at Lodie as he walked past the officers - a reference to Lodie's reputed association with Revere's Bloods street gang.

Gia Nagy, 19, Iacoviello's ex-girlfriend, is serving one to two years for admitting last month she concealed pieces of the dismantled murder weapon in rubber gloves and disposed of them in three sewer drains.